both

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English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Middle English bothe, boþe, from Old English bā þā (“both the; both those”) and possibly reinforced by Old Norse báðir, from Proto-Germanic *bai. Cognate with Saterland Frisian bee (“both”), West Frisian beide (“both”), Dutch beide (“both”), German beide (“both”), Swedish både, båda, Danish både, Norwegian både, Icelandic báðir. Replaced Middle English bō, from Old English bā, a form of Old English bēġen.

Pronunciation

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Determiner

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both

  1. Each of the two; one and the other; referring to two individuals or items.
    Both children are such dolls.
    Which one do you need? ―I need both of them.

Usage notes

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This word does not come between a possessive and its head noun. Say both (of) my hands, not *my both hands. Say, both (of) the king's horses, not *the king's both horses.

Derived terms

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Translations

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Pronoun

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both

  1. Each of the two, or of the two kinds.
    Did you want this one or that one? ―Give me both.
    They were both here.
    • 2013 July 19, Ian Sample, “Irregular bedtimes may affect children's brains”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 6, page 34:
      Irregular bedtimes may disrupt healthy brain development in young children, according to a study of intelligence and sleeping habits.  ¶ Going to bed at a different time each night affected girls more than boys, but both fared worse on mental tasks than children who had a set bedtime, researchers found.

Conjunction

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both

  1. Including both of (used with and).
    Both you and I are students.
    • 1977, Agatha Christie, chapter 4, in An Autobiography, part II, London: Collins, →ISBN:
      Mind you, clothes were clothes in those days. There was a great deal of them, lavish both in material and in workmanship.
  2. (obsolete) Including all of (used with and).
    • 1598, Philip Sidney, The countesse of Pembrokes Arcadia, page 211:
      […] having much aduantage both in number, valure, and forepreparation […]
    • 1766, [Oliver Goldsmith], The Vicar of Wakefield: […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), Salisbury, Wiltshire: […] B. Collins, for F[rancis] Newbery, […], →OCLC:
      Both mongrel, puppy, whelp, and hound.
    • 1797–1798 (date written), [Samuel Taylor Coleridge], “The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere”, in Lyrical Ballads, with a Few Other Poems, London: […] J[ohn] & A[rthur] Arch, […], published 1798, →OCLC:
      He prayeth well who loveth well both man and bird and beast.
    • 1892, Richard Congreve, Essays Political, Social, and Religious, volume 2, page 615:
      […] as he appreciates its beauty and its rich gifts, as he regards it with venerant love, fed by both his intellectual powers, his contemplation, and his meditation.

Translations

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Quotations

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See also

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various semantically related terms

Anagrams

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Irish

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Etymology

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From Old Irish both (“hut, cabin”), from Proto-Celtic *butā (compare Middle Welsh bot (“dwelling”)), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH- (“to be”). Related to English booth.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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both f (genitive singular botha, nominative plural bothanna or botha)

  1. booth, hut

Declension

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Declension of both

Third declension

Bare forms:

Case Singular Plural
Nominative both bothanna
Vocative a bhoth a bhothanna
Genitive botha bothanna
Dative both bothanna

Forms with the definite article:

Case Singular Plural
Nominative an bhoth na bothanna
Genitive na botha na mbothanna
Dative leis an mboth

don bhoth

leis na bothanna
Alternative declension
Declension of both

Irregular

Bare forms

Case Singular Plural
Nominative both botha
Vocative a bhoth a bhotha
Genitive botha both
Dative both botha

Forms with the definite article

Case Singular Plural
Nominative an bhoth na botha
Genitive na botha na mboth
Dative leis an mboth

don bhoth

leis na botha

Derived terms

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  • bothach (“hutted, full of huts”, adjective)
  • bothán m (“shanty, cabin; hut, shed, coop”)
  • bothchampa m (“hutment”)
  • bothóg f (“shanty, cabin”)

Mutation

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Irish mutation
Radical Lenition Eclipsis
both bhoth mboth
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

References

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  1. ^ Quiggin, E. C. (1906) A Dialect of Donegal, Cambridge University Press, page 17

Further reading

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Middle English

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Etymology 1

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Noun

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both

  1. Alternative form of bothe (“booth”)

Etymology 2

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Determiner

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both

  1. Alternative form of bothe (“both”)

Pronoun

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both

  1. Alternative form of bothe (“both”)

Conjunction

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both

  1. Alternative form of bothe (“both”)

Old Irish

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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both f (genitive buithe)

  1. Alternative form of buith

Inflection

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Feminine ā-stem
Singular Dual Plural
Nominative bothL — —
Vocative bothL — —
Accusative buithN — —
Genitive buitheH — —
Dative buithL — —
Initial mutations of a following adjective:
  • H = triggers aspiration
  • L = triggers lenition
  • N = triggers nasalization

Verb

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·both

  1. preterite passive conjunct of at·tá

Welsh

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Etymology

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Probably ultimately from Proto-Celtic *buzdos (“tail, penis”) perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *gʷosdʰos (“piece of wood”) (compare Proto-Slavic *gvozdь (“nail, tack, peg”)). Cognates include Cornish both (“hump, stud”), Breton bod (“bush, shrub”), Irish bod (“penis”), Manx bod (“penis”) and Manx bwoid (“penis”).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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both f (plural bothau)

  1. (transport) hub of a wheel, nave
    Synonyms: bogail, bŵl

Mutation

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Welsh mutation
radical soft nasal aspirate
both foth moth unchanged
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

References

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  • R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “both”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies
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